


Because Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History

by exbex



Category: due South
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-08-03
Updated: 2010-08-03
Packaged: 2017-10-10 22:16:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/104947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/exbex/pseuds/exbex





	Because Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History

The rock was grinding insistently into the small of her back, and the sleeping bag now seemed very thin, and, with Ray gone, cold and empty.

 

Stella shrugged out of the bag, ran her fingers through her tangled hair, and tried not to feel grumpy, but Ray’s idea of trying to help her relax had seemed odd from the start, and now just seemed pathetic and, well, bad.  She sighed and unzipped the folds of the tent.  It wasn’t his fault.  He had wanted so badly to take her away from the city and work and studying non-stop for the bar exam, but they were too broke to do anything other than go camping.  Stella had been ready to veto the idea and just stay in for the weekend, but Ray had looked so hopeful and so pleased with himself, that she didn’t have the heart to talk him out of it.  So they loaded up the car and Stella had tried very hard to avoid looking longingly at each quaint little bed and breakfast they passed on the way there.

 

Stella half-stumbled outside and found Ray bent over the meager campfire, attempting to make coffee.  His hair was sticking up all over, looking even wilder than usual, and his face was covered with stubble, and he had that intense look of concentration on his face.  Stella couldn’t help but grin.  Suddenly it seemed like a good idea; the sun was up and shining, the trees and the lake were pretty, and her husband was adorably scruffy and, right now anyway, the most caring guy in the world.

 

“You know what we should do?”  He had that wicked grin on his face, the one that could still make her shiver a little, and that impish look in his eyes.  They were sitting on camping stools, sipping the somewhat questionable coffee, Ray leaning forward, both hands around his cup, his thumb tracing the rim.

 

“Hmm?” Stella looked at him over her cup and raised an eyebrow.

 

“Go swimming,” he waved his hand in the direction of the lake.

 

She knit her eyebrows together.  “We didn’t bring suits, did we?”

 

Ray grinned and then laughed.  “Stella, I can’t believe it.”

 

Stella’s eyes widened, then she frowned slightly.  “Ray, don’t you think we’re a little old for that?”

 

“Well, I tried to get you to do it that one time in high school, but you chickened out.”

 

Stella did remember that summer night.  She remembered wanting to so badly, but thinking about horror movies she’d seen and possibly getting caught and had talked herself, then Ray, out of it.  Now the idea of skinny-dipping just seemed silly, and there was still the possibility, however remote, of getting caught.  But then, Stella hadn’t seen a horror movie in ages, and the lake was beautiful, even if there was no moonlight, and Ray was giving her that look.  Stella thought about how the water would feel on her bare skin, about the way Ray’s taut muscles looked when his skin was wet.  Stella had never been the one to do the crazy things; she was always the safe one, the one who remembered the deadlines and the birth control and paying the bills and all that other practical stuff.  But right now she was on vacation, however meager it might be, and soon it would be over, along with the opportunity to do something entirely impractical.

 

Stella didn’t miss the shift from daring to surprised to grinning on Ray’s countenance as she stood up and started taking off clothing, leaving it in a pile next to the camping stool.  She sauntered toward the lake, then glanced over her shoulder.  “Are you coming?”

 

The water was colder than she thought it would be, and she gritted her teeth as she waded in and sank into the water, swimming in slow, strokes.  She closed her eyes; her body was adjusting and she felt the tension leave her shoulders.  She smiled just slightly; this was more liberating, and more fun than she could have imagined.

 

She felt Ray’s arm encircle her, pull her close to him.  She fit into his arms, and his skin seemed warm somehow.  He softly brushed his stubbled cheek against hers, and she giggled.  He turned her around easily to face him, pulling her to him, her nipples brushing against his chest, his hands slowly stroking the small of her back.  She kissed him and he opened his mouth to let her tongue in.  She was hungrier for him than she had been in a long time.  It was as if all of her senses were coming to life at once.

 

But the water was cold, and soon they were both shivering.  He slowly and reluctantly pulled his lips away from hers, brushing her cheek with his fingers.  “C’mon, let’s go back to bed.”

 

The fire, though small, was still burning.  They had the day ahead of them.  They would dry off as best they could, maybe sip a little more coffee, crawl back into the sleeping bed, make love, and at some point, before they packed everything up and returned to the city, she’d have to tell him what a good idea this had been after all.


End file.
